


Sweet Days (series #3): Collection #3

by sweepeaspatch



Category: Death in Paradise
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-07-06 15:30:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15888858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweepeaspatch/pseuds/sweepeaspatch
Summary: Free Fall:  the heady days of endless love.





	1. Things That Go Bump In The Night - part 1 of 4

**Author's Note:**

> More short stories on a subject I find endlessly fascinating.  
> Stories:  
> 1\. Things that go Bump in the Night (4 parts)  
> 2\. Alone With You I Will Find Other Seas  
> 3...WiP...

Day 1

Stepping out onto his veranda on a freshly washed Spring day with the first blessed cup of tea in his hand, Richard stutters to a halt as his eye falls upon a pile of wreckage quite close to the house. Setting down his cup, he goes down to discover it is the ‘Roast Beef’. It has been flattened as if by a steam-roller, ribs and spars jutting out in every direction. Ruined. Totally ruined. Looking closer, he realizes that it has been crushed. He straightens quickly and looks about.

He sees marks in the sand but it makes no sense! Something the size of a car came out of the sea, passed right by his house, crushed his boat, and went into the trees? It must have returned the same way else… it is still in the trees! Rushing back to the house and grabbing up his trusty mop, he investigates.  He finds a huge area of disturbed sand and half-buried palm fronds.

All is quiet and deserted now, zephyrs in the tree-tops and all that sort of rot. Sun blistering down and not a cool breeze to be had for love nor money. _Bother the_ _tropics!_ He snorts and returns to the house.

He arrives the station and mentions it to the team. Fidel and Camille haven’t the faintest idea. In fact, they go so far as to suggest that perhaps he misread the clues! An indignant argument is enjoyed by all, just to get the creative juices flowing before they all settle down to routine paperwork. Richard sighs happily, another perfect beginning to another perfect day!

It is into this silence that Dwayne sidles up to his Chief’s desk and asks if he can go on patrol. Richard wonders at this. _So soon in the day? Must be very important. Or the perfect way to spend a lovely Spring day? Well, Dwayne has been working hard as of late so… sure!_ Richard grants him leave.

Dwayne is off like a shot and heads straight to the Chief’s beach. He takes photos, paces off the marks, draws diagrams in his little copper’s notebook, checks the phase of the moon and the sea-tides, then makes a phone call. He is very pale and his hands are shaking.

Later, back at the station, Dwayne asks his Chief if he heard anything during the night, “No sounds of movement, or the crushing of your little boat, or a kind of singing?”

“Singing? No, nothing. Odd, isn’t it? Whatever crushed the ‘Roast Beef’ must have weighed a lot. How could I not hear it?” Dwayne mutters something that Richard doesn’t catch but it sounds like ‘not meant to hear it’ or some such. Not for the first time Richard thinks, _What strange manners they have here on the island._

That night, Richard notices strangers walking his beach, combing the tree-line, searching… but for what? He goes out to see if he can be of service but they are all very quiet and reserved, assuring him that they are perfectly fine and don’t wish to be a bother. Within minutes, they are gone. He goes back to his little house. His curiosity is aroused and he wonders.

Day 2

Next morning, Camille sidles up to Richard at the coffee pot. “Poor boaty!” she sighs.

Richard quietly reassures her, “I can always get another boat, a more comfortable boat, one with more leg room and maybe...”

Their secret smiles are interrupted by Dwayne who overhears the remark, “What’s that, Chief? Why would you want another boat? You HATE the water!” He frowns at the sharp looks he gets. _Touchy! It’s just an old boat, after all!_ Then he does a double take. _Did the Chief just pat his Sergeant on the…? NO! Can’t be!!_ He goes back to work, determined to keep his head down, his nose out of other people’s business, and off the Chief’s radar! But his curiosity is aroused and he wonders.

End – part 1


	2. Things That Go Bump In The Night - part 2 of 4

Part 2 of 4

Day 9

Richard is surprised by a visit from Dwayne. Other than the time of the fever, Dwayne has never come by on his own. This time he seems a bit nervous. “Chief, I got somethin’ to tell you and you’re probably not gonna like it. In fact, you will think I’m out and out crazy but hear me out, OK?”

Richard nods, brings two beers, and they relax on the veranda. Well, Richard relaxes. Dwayne spins the bottle in his hands and can’t seem to say whatever he wants to say. Being a genius, Richard doesn’t have to search far for an opening, “Dwayne, does this have to do with my beach?”

Dwayne sits up suddenly and downs half the beer in one go then sets it down, “Yes, it does.”

“The marks in the sand, the ‘Roast Beef’, the searchers in the woods… what does it all mean?”

“It means… it means a miracle has happened, somethin’ that hasn’t been seen here in over five generations and it happened right here on your beach. There hasn’t been a whisper of this thing in a hundred years on the island and the only record of it elsewhere is from 1890 from an island off Australia. Poor thing musta been lost!”

“Well? What is it? Tell me!”

“I can’t, Chief, sorry. The elders are quite firm about that. They think you’ll alert the authorities and bring down a fire-storm of media attention.”

“But, Dwayne, I AM ‘the authorities’. If something significant happened here, I need to know.”

Dwayne is silent a moment, thinking. He sighs, “Remember the sea turtle eggs we saved?” Richard nods. “Do you remember what you told the perps?” Richard nods again. “So do I. You said, ‘You should be ashamed!’ You meant that, right?”

“I did. It’s a shame and disgrace that creatures are exterminated by human greed and idiocy.” Richard pauses, considers Dwayne’s silent regard for a moment, “Are you telling me that something came ashore here on my beach? Something big enough to smash my boat and leave those monstrous marks in the sand?”

Dwayne is very grave, “I’m not tellin’ you anythin’. You’re askin’ and I’m not answerin’. Sorry, but, please, let us keep watch here. We don’t know the timin’ and we have to be careful. We’d like permission to rebuild your boat. Is that OK with you?”

Richard fidgets for a few moments then casually asks, “May I request some modifications?”

Dwayne grins, “Oh, yeah! More leg room. Now tell me, why would you need that?”

The Chief answers and doesn’t bat an eye or blush in the least, “None of your business, Officer Myers.”

Dwayne laughs, claps his boss on the shoulder, “Good on you, Chief! She’s taught you some valuable lessons, I see! A good poker-face comes in very handy when dealin’ with women!”

Richard snorts and the Chief is gone, “Dwayne, you have NO idea! Yes, I give permission… but about my privacy…”

Dwayne throws up his hands, “Not to worry. I’ll make sure they stay well up into the tree line.” He lowers his voice, “Out of ear-shot, if you get me.” He winks.

“I have no earthly idea what you are… Oh, all right! Thank you.” This time the man does blush.

They clink bottles, each thinking his own thoughts.

After a long moment, Dwayne says, “Did you know there are whales that were seen only once on the high seas, hundreds of years ago, given proper Latin names but without a single shred of evidence they actually exist? One was just rediscovered by Russians in 1983 and the scientists have been arguin’ about it ever since. I’d really like to see the rhino dolphin but it hasn’t been seen again.”

“Does this thing have a name? You know I’ll Google the hell out of it now so you may as well tell me.”

“We don’t call it anythin’. It sings its name… Moh-a, Moh-a.” He hesitates, says low, “Oh, I hope it’s true, that it’s here, that we have the chance to guard it once more. My great-grandpa told me all about it from his great-grandpa’s day. When they breed on the beach, it’s somethin’ to see, I’m told.”

Richard envisions cars mounting one another, “Oh, quite!” he murmurs. They finish their beers. Dwayne leaves and Richard sits for a long time, watching the ocean and listening.

End – part 2


	3. Things That Go Bump In The Night - part 3 of 4

Part 3 of 4

Day 10

Next day, the ‘construction crew’ arrives and fences off a considerable ‘yard’ inside the tree-line above the beach, well out of ‘ear shot’ as promised. When Camille slips into his kitchen later that night, she is apprehensive, “What’s with the fence and the piles of lumber and the guard?”

Richard tells a half-truth, “I’ve commissioned a new boat. It might take some time to build as I’ve asked for some very specific changes.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“Well, more leg room, for one thing.”

“Oh! What about a wine cupboard?”

“Yes, good idea.”

“And iron rings for…”

“NO! It’s just a boat! But, gosh, do you think we’d get away with that? Hmm.”

She smiles and sneaks up on him while he is distracted.

Day 60

Who knew it takes so long to custom-build a small boat? Richard and Camille have grown accustomed to the sweet smell of fresh wood shavings. It is most pleasant to fall asleep to.

Visits of a personal nature pose no problem thanks to the discretion of the ‘workers’. Soon as they hear the Defender arriving or the particular loud bang of a closing door at the little house, everyone finds something extremely interesting to observe inland. Camille just shrugs but Richard still feels a bit awkward. If pressed, he most definitely did NOT want to suspend activities. He just wishes the boat to be finished soon and the watch over.

But it is many more weeks before things come to a head.

Day 118

When Richard comes out onto his veranda to greet the hot dawn, he sees the watcher kneeling in the sand, listening intently. A spike of excitement wafts through him but he refrains from joining in. As the acknowledged representative of ‘the authorities’, he has kept his distance and tried to ignore the whole thing but it is VERY exciting, none the less.

The Defender roars up. She’s late again but her first kiss of the day is thrilling enough to silence him. She notices the activity within the boat-yard, “What’s going on? Did he drop something?”

“Apparently so. Let’s go, paperwork waits for no one,” and off they went.

When Richard comes home late that night, he sees Dwayne and a whole crowd of quiet people kneeling in a large circle, all listening with fascination. Soon afterwards, he greets Dwayne on the veranda with a cold beer, “So?”

“Noises, little stirrin’s, everyone is very excited! It’s the dark moon in two nights, we think that’s when… when you’re boat will be finished.”

“Oh! Excellent. We… I can’t wait to try it out.”

“Goin’ on a little cruise? A ‘maiden voyage’? Just you an’…?” His grin gleams in the waning sunlight.

“You show an unhealthy obsession with my personal recreational habits.”

“Naw! I just like to keep up with the local happenin’s… and I hear it happens a LOT!” A wider grin.

Richard sighs melodramatically, “So much for discretion.”

“Hey, everyone is just as surprised as I am. You Brits must need each other to keep warm or somethin’. It’s the only explanation we can come up with. Unless you’d like to explain…?”

“I have only one thing to say in my defense but a gentleman never besmirches a lady’s good name so, no, I plead extenuating circumstances beyond my control.”

“More like exhaustin’ circumstances, if you ask me! Keep this up and you’ll be matchin’ my schedule!”

Richard laughs, “No one can match that! I concede defeat most graciously.” They lapse into silence and watch the night fall all around them. Finally, as Dwayne stands to leave, Richard murmurs, “In two nights, you think? Can I watch from here?”

“Hey, it’s your beach, Chief. We’ll just be here to make sure nothin’ goes wrong, you know, with whatever does or doesn’t happen.” They nod to each other and Dwayne leaves with the crowd, leaving one behind to stand guard.

End – part 3


	4. Things That Go Bump In The Night - part 4 of 4

Part 4 of 4

Day 120

The ‘Roast Beef II’ is suddenly finished and moored just off the beach, bobbing pristinely. As much as Richard wants to be the first ‘skipper’, he agrees that it be commandeered tonight to monitor events on the water. If there are any. If he isn’t imagining the whole thing!

As night falls, activity dies down inside the fallow boat-yard. A circle of shadows wait patiently. The barricade has been dismantled on the beach-side of the enclosure.

Down at the little house, a lone shadow watches from the veranda.

Long hours pass. Someone checks the sand periodically but, other than that, no one moves.

It is in the deepest part of the night when the shadows jostle one another. Richard can’t see what they see but he watches several break away and walk haltingly to the tide line. They stop there, looking out to sea. Soon, another group breaks away and makes their way down to the water to join the first group. A third and final group is the last, one stooping briefly. The ‘Roast Beef II’ darts away, making a bee-line for open water.

Richard is joined by Dwayne as the crowd slips away into the trees. Together they watch the boat’s tiny stern light shrink into the distance. It ends up at a tiny rocky spar, one of the small islets that dot Richard’s horizon.

He turns to Dwayne, “Why there?”

“Well, the story goes that there’s a small inland pool where shy little things can hide and rest, maybe grow up a bit before bravin’ the open sea. It’s just a story, mind.”

Richard nods, “Yes, just a story. Were there only three?”

“Three what?”

“All right, enough said. You know, it is strangely gratifying to know a delicious secret that you can keep for a life time.”

“I know. Everyone wants to thank you for your discretion, by the way. An’ here, I brought you somethin’.” Dwayne’s shadow reaches across the little table and puts something about the size of a silver dollar, smooth and cool, into Richard shadow’s hand. Rubbing his thumb over it, Richard feels faint ridges, scalloped edges, a thickened disc on one side. “Guard it well. Think of it as a small payment for a huge favour.” Dwayne regards his Chief quietly, “An’, of course, you can’t show it to anyone.”

Richard nods, pockets the treasure, “And why would I? Scales are a dime a dozen here. Thank you.”

Dwayne stands, stretches, feeling every one of his years yet oddly rejuvenated, “Well, that’s me done like dinner. I’m gonna sleep like the dead tonight. G’night, Chief.”

“Night, Dwayne.”

As Dwayne paces away, he turns back suddenly, “Goin’ to give the ‘Roast Beef II’ its maiden voyage soon?” He hears the smile in the Chief’s reply.

“God, you people! What I get up to on my own beach is my own business and none of yours!”

“Sure, sure. Just remember, the dark moon only lasts two more nights. The boat will be back soon and you can captain it any way you want. Now, about those iron rings…”

“How did the crew know where to go, by the way?”

“Oh, I taped a small trackin’ device on the… well, we just want to be sure everythin’ is safe and sound, you know.” A pause, “Gonna make me wonder about the rings, aren’t you?”

They regard each other a moment longer then Dwayne laughs and leaves.

Richard sits a long time, sees his boat return, watches the crew melt into the night. He wonders about ever going out onto the water again, decides maybe he’ll just stay off the water in the Spring. He wonders about other things he found on the internet, things he doesn’t want to know about.

He falls asleep listening to the sea.

Does he hear singing?

END


	5. Alone With You I Will Find Other Seas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An after-thought of "Things That Go Bump In The Night".

** Alone With You I Will Find Other Seas **

It’s a moonless night and, as always, balmy and quiet except for the gentle lapping of deep blue seas against a well-known and deserted beach. Something bobs gently on the water, all alone.

Earlier

“Why does the water look different today?”

She looks up from her file, glances across his beach, shrugs, “It’s an ebb tide.”

“Oh? And what’s that when it’s at home?”

She smiles, throws him a forbearing glance, “It’s when the current runs out to sea.”

“Ah… and will it occur again with the next tide?”

“Yes. Why?”

He shrugs most elaborately, the corners of his mouth turning down which means he is playing with her, “Oh, no reason. Just curious. We landlubbers don’t trust water, you know.” He finishes a file, lays it down, picks up another, shoots her a quick glance that she misses. He smiles.

An hour later, he sends her off back to the station with a pile of paperwork and an invitation to return for ‘some quiet time’. She waves out the truck window as she roars away. He turns back to his house and rubs his hands in anticipation.

When she returns after dark, she finds him down on the beach, readying the ‘Roast Beef II’ for launch. She stands just inside the tree-line and watches him. He is so fine. The casual white shirt, open at the throat, the rolled up sleeves, the pale khakis pants rolled up to show his strong calves… and bare feet! Outside! How different he looks from the man who had first come to the island.

She sighs… she could look at him all night. Has, in fact, despite his pleas to PLEASE get some sleep! “Hey! What are you up to?” she finally calls, hurrying down to join him.

He straightens with a grin, “I thought we could take advantage of this ‘ebb’ tide and take our maiden voyage.” He leers, “You know, try out some of the improvements!”

Looking into the boat, she sees a nest of blankets and pillows on the larger deck, a glint of glass. WINE?! Her eyes flare and she dives forward and begins shoving the craft into the water, “Well, don’t just stand there! Help me!!” she calls over her shoulder.

He laughs and does so, hands her into the boat, climbs aboard and plays out the mooring line as the current gently envelops them and they slowly drift out to sea. He turns to face her only to find she has already opened the wine cellar and poured the wine. They toast the night, the sea, the ebb tide, and each other.

“You know,” she begins, “that shirt glows in the dark. You’d better take it off.” He does so.

“You know,” he continues, “your eyes gleam in the dark. You’d better close them.” She does so.

She is gently laid down into the little bower he’s made and the slow dance begins. They are delighted to discover that the languid rocking of the boat matches their own rhythm. The slow steady beat draws out their performance almost indefinitely as they keep time with the ocean. It is a revelation for both of them. And now they are being rocked to sleep, like good little soldiers who have done their best.

Just before he succumbs, he murmurs into her drowsing ear, “Slow and steady wins the race.”

She hums and sighs, “I am memorizing the tidal charts as of tomorrow.”

“No need.”

“Of course. Silly me. You always think of everything.”

They drift off asleep. The little boat bobs hypnotically and stays in place. He dreams of deep song but knows they are safe. Come the Spring, well, best stay off the water then.

Later

As the night sky pales in the east, the ‘Roast Beef II’ slowly approaches shore where it gently grounds just before sunrise. The cessation of motion wakes him. He wakes her. They sit up and rub their eyes.

She kisses his cheek, “Now THAT’S what I call a christening! Wine and other liquids spilling everywhere!” She grins as they dress.

He is gathering up their gear, “Stop that. You know I am a firm believer in conservation. Nothing goes to waste in my home.”

She cocks an eyebrow, pats his derriere where he is bent over retrieving errant wine bottles, “Does that mean there is more in the tank?”

He straightens up and looks to the sky above, “Oh, Lord, deliver me from frisky women!” he shouts.

She rushes him, helps gather up his load, “Don’t just stand there! Help me!”

“Now, where have I heard that before?”

She is pushing him up the beach, “Can’t you move any faster?”

“A man walking to his doom can’t be expected to hurry.”

They are inside now. She dumps their loads and pushes him back onto the bed. He smiles, hands behind his head, regarding her most affectionately, “Does the condemned man get any last words?”

“Yes. As long as you use the following list: don’t stop, yes please, and more!” She lowers herself possessively and buries her face into the hollow of his neck.

He wraps his arms around her, smiles into her hair, whispers into her ear, “Yes, my captain.”

END


End file.
